How bad is this wiring?

[Motorhead350]

I'm 90% positive I am getting this 1965 Chevrolet C10, but it has a wiring issue, nothing really works except for the windshild wipers. The taillights, headlights, turning siginals, brake lights all do not function right now. I looked into a painless wiring and it's about $350. Could this problem with the electricals possibly just be a few fuses or something disconnected? If it was the whole system I cannot imagine the wipers working.

So anyone know about wiring for a 65 Chevy because I have never gotten into anything this old. :confused:

[Breadfan]

I don't know them all that well but your standard electrical gremlins come to mind. It's possible it has problems with the fuses or fuse block, a bunch of blown fuses could mean either they were never changed or that something caused a system-wide power surge or short which could be a problem.

It's possible too the fuse block is bad itself, connections into it may have been pulled out, etc.

Could be a bad ground, perhaps all those items shared a common ground.

It's hard to say.

Electrical stuff can be a pain to troubleshoot, in the end it comes down to the science of tracing wires and trusting your ohm meter. You can learn a lot, but it can be frustrating even if you're really good at it.

A painless kit would a nice upgrade. Whatever wiring is there is 43 years old. And since most trucks go to work, wiring can take a beating. Who knows how many times the harness has been spliced into as well for add ons or backyard fixes to electrical problems.

A new harness will put fresh wiring in with updated wiring technology and could eliminate many headaches in the future. Not sure what kind of instructions a painless kit will come with, but in many ways you can follow the routing of the original harness.

With all those bugs and a harness being $350 I'd probably be inclined to start fresh if it's not a simple fix and the wiring is ratty. I could even be inclinded to build my own harness but painless does make it simple!

[Paul T. Casey]

Check the fuses first. There's still electricity if you have wipers. This truck probably has buss fuses, so be careful when removing them as not to cut yourself. As far as the new harness, if the wiring looks good (no dry rot, not too many "add-ins, etc.) I'd keep the stock stuff. Check mostly under the hood where heat becomes an issue.

[SILVERSURFER03]

If You Need A Harness Painless It Way Togo Its All Plug And Play Easy

[ctrlraven]

I don't know the wiring for that year and model but if I were in your shoes I would do a complete new wiring harness. I have done several for some people restoring some older vehicles, all color and gauge spec to OEM for most places but I usually up the wire gauge in more active places.

[fastblackmerc]

Easy for you to install or someone else to install?

[Motorhead350]

I would like to do it myself. I do not want any professional help with this project if I go with it.

[ctrlraven]

If you do it yourself, if you have to make any custom connections please solder them and if you don't know how to solder then learn to lol.

I hate crimps.

[Breadfan]

Amen solder and heatshrink! Also on a big section of harness, say if you have 5 wires bundled and you need to splice in, stagger the solder joints of each wire and the heat shrink that will avoid one big chunk of splice in the line making it look much nicer.

[Motorhead350]

I can solder, I have broken my guitars many times from playing too hard. :D

[ctrlraven]

I use a butane soldering iron from Radio Shack, best $20 I have ever spent.

[martyo]

If you need a harness check in with Eckler's.

Theuy do Corvette parts and I believe they are now doing the parts for the Cheby Trucks.

[Egon Spengler]

Buy the complete wiring harness for the vehicle from a parts catalog or something and run all new wiring... peace of mind

[Leadfoot281]

You've already mentioned that the truck needs new floors. I'm guessing that rust is an issue. With rust comes bad grounds.

Bad grounds= fire hazzard. Ask me how I know.

I've never rewired a car or truck before. By the time I start losing grounds, I patch things up and sell it.

[Motorhead350]

I think I wanna keep this for a little while. I just bought it today! :D

[martyo]

I think I wanna keep this for a little while. I just bought it today! :D


Post pics.

We just got a '69 C-10 (Cheyenne syle) and I love it.

[Motorhead350]

I will in the next day or so. It's not here because it was too cold for that choke to work yesterday. :mad: I'm going to tow it with a friend tomorrow and we'll get the headlights working soon too.

[Breadfan]

Sounds like a fun project and one you can learn alot off of! Look forward to seeing pics

[martyo]

I'm going to tow it with a friend

How many horsepower is your friend? And does he come with a trailer hitch???

[teamrope]

Another good source for that truck is Chevy Duty. They specialize in replacement parts for the old Chevy trucks.
Link to their site (http://www.classicparts.com/download-cat.html)

[PonyGuy]

Back in my "gas-station" days, I fixed a lot of Chevys, Olds, and Pontiacs with faulty lighting systems. GM cars of the 1960's were notorious for crappy wiring and non-working lights. They had crummy sockets, ¢heap connectors, and even ¢heaper wiring. (And it didn't cost much, either).
A Painless kit is the best antidote...

Good luck! This weekend will be quite a test for you... changing weather from below-zero cold to snow to wind then rain. All in about 4 days...